AirBNB Cancellation Policy

[Josh Ball]

I have always read that if you have cancellation policy set to anything besides "flexible" on Airbnb that it hurts you on search results. Is there any truth to this?

We have a property that I'd like to switch to a stricter policy, at least for off season but don't want to hurt visibility in a competitive market if possible. 

Last minute cancellation during off-season hurt as there is 99% chance we do not rebook when they cancel 36 hours before check-in.

[Andrew Steffens]

I do not believe there is proof to this, but...

I have a local market manager for Airbnb, and he has admitted that not doing whatever Airbnb is pushing for does deprioritize listings.  That can include cancellation policies, instant book, even if your cleaning fee is too high compared to the average local rate for similar properties.

Basically, Airbnb rewards those that do what they are told with more visibility.

I have flexible policies on all of our smaller, urban units (book last minute usually anyways), moderate on my mid range homes, and strict on our large luxury / waterfront homes that book far out and do not have a problem booking.